MOTAT Trip

Museum Of Transport And Technology

Wednesday 13 of May 2015, Room 7 and the rest of the senior syndicate went on a field trip in a bus to MOTAT to learn about world war 1 and the technology they used in the war.

First Room 7, travelled by bus to go to MOTAT, it was a very long ride but we finally arrived. We got off the bus and into our groups that Mrs.Parker set us into. Room 7 and the other classes waited at the main gate for the educator, Jessica to tell us  where we had to go. Once the educator finished speaking about the rules we walked over to a rotundo that had a mat on the wooden floor. We sat down as  Jessica told us where the toilets were, she also said if you have any fruit, put the peeling into a yellow bin that is next to the rubbish bin. She also explained that class 2 will be with her and class 1 and 3 will be going on the self guided trail.

Afterwards we had our morning tea, when we finished eating we put our bags into 2 huge cages and lined up in our groups. One by one the classes left in their groups, I was in  Mrs.Parker’s group with Darvani, Vainikolo, Simeon, Tamati, Charlie and Mary. Our group first went to the K900 train, which was a steam train that had a huge engine in the front and was powered by coal. Meanwhile the other classes were heading to their activity with Jessica, I waved out the window of the train hoping they will notice, but sadly the didn’t. Then we went into the brick house that was near the rotunda. Inside that brick house, there was a huge wheel that looked like a water mill. That huge wheel is what they used to send the water to all the houses. But now we just use a water tap.

Later on ,we took a long tour around the old shops, Mr.Parker pretended she wanted to get some food. We joked around, asking the fake man to get us the food that we wanted, then we had a look at the water pump. The water pump had two taps at each end but to make it work you had press the handle up and down. Water started pouring out of the taps and into a huge wooden like bowl. Then we headed towards the old school. The old school looked casual, there were wooden desks, there was a picture that had rules written on it. Mrs.Parker read it out loud, but I couldn't remember any of them. Mrs. Parker told us that in the olden days, if you disrespect an adult then they will get a long stick and whip you. Back then it was cruel, on the board in the front of the room there was a list of activities the students had to do, it was neatly written. Mrs.Parker also told us even if they don’t copy the hand writing right they would get a wip, Mrs.Parker was very glad that they changed the rules.

Next we went into the old village, there was a bench that was covered with stones and we sat on it to take a photo. We went into the houses and came back it was amazing to see how they lived back then. The we went to the mirror maze, there was a sign on the floor that had a running stick man with a cross across him and that meant no running in the maze. At first we stuck as group but all of a sudden the whole group split up. I was actually lost, I stuck my hand out so that I don’t bump into any mirrors. I panicked because all that could see was my own reflection. I walked forward because I thought that Mary was in front of me but it was actually her reflection. Mary was at the back of me so I bumped into the wall. I also bumped into Mrs.Parker and yelled “AHH!! You’re a real person!” Finally I made it out, it was so confusing. By the time I came out my group was in the theater, worst of all I had to go back in to find Charlie.

After a while, we went to an area where there were heaps of old cars. Some of the cars were cut in half and stuck onto the walls so that people can hop inside to take a look. There was also a wall that had different kinds of horns, that clowns use on their unicycles. On the other half of the wall, there were steering wheels and I pretended that I was a crazy driver. Afterwards we headed up the rail, that was above the old vehicles. As we headed up the rail, there was a room that had a glass window, filled with old games and old computers. Mrs.Parker even mentioned back then she used to play with one of the games that were inside the room. Moments later, we arrived at an area where there was different kind of bikes. All kinds of bikes were hung up on the ceilings. There was also a manikin on a BMX bike on top of a hill, which was part of the display.

Eventually, our group had to go to the next activity which was the play area. There was a earthquake cafe room which was a lot of fun and there were all kinds of fun activities. My favourite activity in the play area was the spinning wheel. We only had 10 minutes left till we had to go on the tram ride. A few minutes later we were trying to find the tram station. As we arrived at the tram station Mrs,Card’s group was already there and the tram had just dropped off another school. The tram switched sides of the train and we hopped inside the tram. The tram driver, Dennis explained some important rules. Then the tram ride began.

After the tram ride we headed back to the rotunda to have our lunch. As soon as we finished our lunch we waited until all the other classes were back. Room 9 first went off to the self guided trail. Room 7 was with Jessica. Jessica took us into a large room filled with pretty displays. Jessica stood in front of each display, and explained what they are and what activities we had to do with them. My favourite activity was the activity with flags. Back the in the war they signaled each other with flags. I tried a couple of signals and spelt CHANGE. There was the typewrite, the medals and the Queen Mary box(the real deal). Jessica yelled out that our time was finished and it was time to head back to school. Room 7 went back to the rotunda, grabbed our bags and lined up. Then Robin stood up and thanked MOTAT for the wonderful trip.

One by one each class walked down to the main gate, and hopped onto the bus. Finally we were back at school, exhausted and educated.